In recent years, the nonprofit A Step to Freedom has grown rapidly, collecting millions of dollars from the government to house and feed homeless people coming out of jail in L.A. County.
What was a small organization providing 20 or so men shelter each year, with $25,500 in revenue in 2018, grew to operate six interim housing sites serving about 200 people at a time in 2024, with more than $5 million in revenue, largely from taxpayers, according to federal tax filings.
The expansion enabled A Step to Freedom, run by chief executive Kenya Croom, to help far more people, but it also had another, less visible beneficiary: Croom herself.
According to a Times review of public and internal records, over three years, the nonprofit paid more than $1.7 million to Croom's two for-profit businesses that provided food for the shelters and, in its most recent tax filings, did not disclose her ties to them as required.
The nonprofit's most recent tax filing shows Croom made roughly $120,000 in 2024 for a 40-hour workweek leading A Step to Freedom. She said she earns an additional $100,000 salary from one of the for-profit companies.
Nonprofit experts interviewed by The Times raised concerns that someone in a position like Croom's could profit to the detriment of both taxpayers and the people the money is meant to serve.
In interviews, Croom defended the contracts, saying her companies provided meals, snacks and beverages to the nonprofit's roughly 200 residents at a lower cost than what outside vendors would have charged. She said the failure to disclose her role in the companies on the nonprofit's tax filings was an oversight.
"We didn't check a box. We made a mistake," she said, adding that the nonprofit is undergoing an audit. "We just have work to do. And our work to do here is really to help people."
Her chief of staff, Larry Earl, said in written answers to The Times that Croom did not participate in any discussions or votes about the board's decision to contract with her companies, in accordance with its conflict of interest policy.
Government spending on homelessness, which relies largely on nonprofits to operate shelters and other housing sites around L.A. County, is under immense scrutiny. Multiple audits have flagged a lack of oversight, while a task force of federal prosecutors have brought at least three fraud cases over the use of funds intended to help the homeless. Even after pouring billions into ending the crisis, it remains one of L.A. County's most intractable problems. Although the number of people living on the streets went down the last two years, the levels are still higher than they were in 2022.
Most recently, the head of a Hyde Park-based nonprofit, Abundant Blessings, was accused of spending millions of dollars awarded to his nonprofit to house and feed the homeless on luxury vacations, designer clothing and other personal expenses. Prosecutors said Alexander Soofer falsified invoices claiming he was serving fresh meals to residents while actually serving breakfast bars and microwavable ramen noodles. In another case, the former chief financial officer of affordable housing developer Shangri-La was accused of using millions that the state provided to create homeless housing toward his American Express bills, including transactions at luxury retailers. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
No such allegations have been made against A Step to Freedom.
Federal tax filings show that A Step to Freedom paid Croom's companies nearly $500,000 — $275,259 went to R&K Mgmt Firm Inc. in 2023 and $214,725 to ASF Solutions LLC in 2024, the most recent filing available. A transaction report provided by the nonprofit shows it paid ASF Solutions nearly $1.3 million in 2025 to serve three meals a day.
State business records show Croom filed paperwork to create both entities and holds roles at each. Croom told The Times she has an ownership stake in the two companies.
After The Times inquired with A Step to Freedom about its contracts with Croom's companies, the nonprofit disclosed "the potential issue" to one of its major funders, the county's Department of Health Services, according to a statement from Dr. Clemens Hong, the director of the department's Office of Diversion and Reentry.
County officials reviewed A Step to Freedom's payments to outside vendors during fiscal year 2024-25 and determined that meal services were part of its approved scope of work and that the cost per meal was reasonable. It did find that the contract with ASF Solutions constituted a conflict of interest, and mandated that the nonprofit "provide a formal disclosure statement to LA County identifying the nature of the relationship with ASF Solutions LLC."
The county identified three other companies that the nonprofit paid for unapproved work, deemed those payments conflicts of interest and asked the nonprofit to repay $82,800 to the county . Officials said three managers at the nonprofit signed contracts on behalf of the companies. It's unclear what roles the nonprofit's managers have with each of the companies.
Croom and Jimar Wilson, the president of the nonprofit's board of directors, did not respond to an email seeking comment on the county's findings.
In an earlier interview, Croom said A Step to Freedom previously prepared the meals in house, but with food and workers' compensation costs rising, the nonprofit's board of directors tasked her with finding a cheaper way.
Croom said the nonprofit initially contracted with an existing company that records show she had incorporated in 2021 — R&K Mgmt — to provide food as "proof of concept" that she could reduce costs before she established ASF Solutions in 2023 to take over food service in August 2024. She said she serves as president of ASF Solutions, from which she takes her salary, and that R&K Mgmt doesn't currently have any revenue and she doesn't collect a salary from the firm.
"The board and I came together to find solutions," Croom said. "One of those ways was to move our kitchen staff out of A Step to Freedom and to create an entity that could manage the food solutions."
A Step to Freedom declined to answer how much it cost to provide meals when it handled food service in house. But in an email, it said workers' comp costs were lowered because Croom's company is small and lower risk than the nonprofit.
Croom said the nonprofit sought quotes from outside meal preparation vendors but determined ASF Solutions could do the job for a lower price.
On a given day, she said, ASF Solutions provides three meals and snacks for the 200 people in the shelters for $18 per person.
The nonprofit prepared a vendor analysis for The Times comparing prices it said it received from the three other companies: It said Factor would have charged $30 per person for three meals a day, Thistle $24.55 for three meals and two snacks, and Everytable $18.45 for three meals.
Representatives for Factor and Thistle said they had no record of providing any quotes to A Step to Freedom. Everytable did not respond to a request for comment.
One nonprofit says it can provide food cheaper than ASF Solutions — when it keeps operations in house. Tyler Renner, a spokesperson for the homeless housing provider PATH, said the organization handles meals in house for about 200 people at a daily, per-person cost of $16.23 for three meals, snacks and beverages, relying in part on donated food.
The Times visited a PATH shelter for lunch recently, where it served Mediterranean chicken bowls with black beans, turmeric rice, cucumber, tomato, pickled onions, feta cheese and spring greens.
Under A Step to Freedom's contract with the Department of Health Services, the nonprofit is obligated to provide residents with a minimum of three nutritious meals per day.
Laurie Styron, chief executive of CharityWatch, said there can be an incentive for Croom's company to produce fewer or less-quality meals to have a higher profit margin. She and others questioned who would guard against such a scenario.
"The driver of a for-profit company is to maximize profit and the driver of a charity CEO is to provide the best services and to fulfill its mission," she said. "Those conflict."
"If you have chosen a vendor which is closely related to the CEO of the nonprofit, then who's the party that's ensuring that that vendor is living up to their end of the bargain?" said Brian Mittendorf, a nonprofit accounting expert at Ohio State University. "You would hope the nonprofit CEO isn't the one charged with that."
In a case like this, experts said, the nonprofit's board should solicit competitive bids from outside companies, and factor in price and quality to make sure the charity gets the best value.
A Step to Freedom declined requests by The Times to release minutes of any board meetings where contracts with Croom's companies were discussed or approved. Its conflict of interest policy notes that Croom "stands to benefit financially" from contracts between the nonprofit and the two companies, and calls on the board to conduct an annual review of the relationship to ensure the nonprofit is getting the best deal.
According to A Step to Freedom's website, Croom's sister, Kendel Croom, serves as the board's treasurer. Kendel Croom could not be reached for comment.
Tamara Robinson, who moved into one of the nonprofit's sites last year, said the organization has provided a "safe haven" that's changed her life, including by getting her on medication to treat her depression.
She described the meals as decent, but "they can be better."
"I don't eat here often," Robinson said.
The Times spoke with eight other current and former residents of A Step to Freedom, who all said they don't eat every meal at the nonprofit. Two people described the meals as "tasty" and "above average." Others were less impressed, with reviews ranging from "average" to "nasty."
Toby Keith, who lives at the North Hollywood location, said that "it's not the greatest quality of food" and that a few times he's found mold in his sandwich bread.
At the request of The Times, Keith documented the meals for a few days in texts and photos. One day last month, he said, lunch was a plain chicken patty sandwich, with no vegetables. Another day was sloppy joes and chips, he said.
Keith said twice he had shown up to eat dinner during the hourlong meal time to find the meals had run out. Once, he said, workers gave him a peanut butter sandwich instead, and the other time they had to go off-site to get another meal from their food provider.
Sopha Yem, also a resident of the North Hollywood location, said he too has shown up a few times to find meals had run out, but he tries to avoid eating there in the first place.
"The food sucks," Yem said. "It's dry and bland."
